Electronic thesis and licence agreement

Under the terms of the PhD regulations, PhD students are obliged to submit an electronic version of their thesis to the University of Groningen Library through Hora Finita . PhD students must sign the licence agreement provided by Hora Finita, consenting to the non-exclusive publication of the thesis through the University of Groningen Repository (see appendix 8 of the PhD regulations ). They do, however, retain copyright, giving them the right to choose the printer or publisher if a commercial edition of the thesis is published.

If a PhD student has complete control of the entire thesis, he/she can sign the licence agreement without exceptions.

If a PhD student does not have complete control of the entire thesis, he/she can sign the licence agreement, indicating one or more of the following exceptions.

1. The thesis contains material over which third parties have control.
   PhD students must ensure that they have permission from the party with control over the material to publish the thesis through the University of Groningen Repository. In the case of exception 1, the PhD student must state the chapter (or chapters) this applies to in the licence agreement.

2. The PhD thesis contains material in one or more chapters which has been submitted to a publisher but has not yet been accepted for publication, or material that will be submitted for publication within 12 months.
   In the case of exception 2, the PhD student must state the chapter (or chapters) this applies to in the licence agreement, so that the Library can place the relevant chapters under embargo for 1 year. If the embargo needs to be extended during the course of that year, the PhD student can submit a request through the University of Groningen Library ; see exception 4 below.

3. The PhD thesis contains material in one or more chapters which has been published or accepted for publication by a publisher.
   The PhD student must check whether the publisher gives permission for the material to be published through the University of Groningen Repository. More information relating to journal articles (particularly in English) is available on the SHERPA/RoMEO website.
   In the case of exception 3, if the material may not be published online the PhD student must state the chapter (or chapters) this applies to in the licence agreement. The Library will then place the relevant chapters under embargo for 1 year. If the embargo needs to be extended, the PhD student can submit a request through Hora Finita; see exception 4 below.

4. The PhD thesis contains material in one or more chapters which has been published or accepted for publication by a publisher and which requires an embargo lasting longer than 1 year.
   The PhD student must submit a substantiated request to the Rector Magnificus through Hora Finita, asking him/her to set a reasonable embargo period exceeding 1 year. See exception 4 of the licence agreement.

Questions about the licence agreement

• University of Groningen Library
• Copyright information point, University of Groningen